The ‘Dream’ Business Exit
Almost all business owners have a “dream exit”: a well-financed buyer flies in, offers up a suitcase full of cash with no strings over a steak and lobster dinner, and the next day the owner is sitting on a beach with a Mai Tai. These kinds of dream exits do occur, but they are extremely... Read More →
2020 M&A Wrap Up
2020 turned out to be a strong year for M&A in the PCB and EMS/PCB Assembly markets. That is surprising considering the pandemic, US election uncertainty, and restrictions on travel. Although many people were traveling within the US, at least until the current surge in COVID-19 cases, international and domestic business travel has been greatly... Read More →
Dealing With Burnout
The year 2020 has certainly been interesting. Owners of companies in the PCB and PCBA industries are used to ups and downs, but yeesh, 2020 has been tough. The good news is most owners have survived all kinds of stressful situations in the past, and hopefully, better days are ahead. Meanwhile, when an owner is... Read More →
Bringing PCB and PCBA Industries Back to the U.S.
Although U.S. PCB companies have been waving the flag for years, the COVID-19 crisis has shined a spotlight on the U.S. dependency on overseas suppliers for many electronics products. It was kind of a “Sputnik moment” for the U.S. that spurred many calls to beef up support for the electronics industry. We should continue that... Read More →
Are We Selling a Business or Watching ‘Die Hard’?
There is a lot of drama involved in selling a business. According to Wikipedia, the movie series “Die Hard” is about “a police detective who continually finds himself in the middle of violent crises and intrigues where he is the only hope against disaster.” If you use the “strong or powerful” definition of “violent,” that... Read More →
Due Diligence: Quality Inspection for Business Sales
When you buy a home, you get a home inspection. When you buy a car, you take it to the mechanic. Before shipping a board or assembly, it goes through several levels of inspection. Buying a business is like a one-time AOI test for a complex, multi-million-dollar assembly. However, there is no time for rework;... Read More →
Acquiring a Distressed Company
Everyone loves a bargain. Are you looking to acquire a beat-up Pinto with four bald tires and 300,000 miles, a gently used Malibu that was recently tuned up and washed, or a brand-new Tesla? Just like buying an old car or a fixer-upper house, you can get a great deal, or sometimes you get what... Read More →
20 EMS Deals in the Past 12 Months
Does it seem like there have been a lot of EMS deals in North American in the past 12 months (June 2019 to May 2020)? From our count, there have been at least 21 deals in the general EMS space (PCB assembly, EMS, etc.) in North America during this time. There have also been five... Read More →
Pivot Like MJ
Most successful businesses have pivoted at least 4–5 times during their history. Even the largest companies—such as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google—need to keep changing and innovating, or they will drop off. As a smaller, nimbler business, it should be easier to pivot, but it takes guts, drive, and hard work. The COVID-19 pandemic has... Read More →
An M&A Perspective on the Current Market
Barry Matties and Nolan Johnson spoke to Tom Kastner about what he sees from an M&A perspective in company leadership resistance to change, as well as the current state of the M&A market and how it’s been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Nolan Johnson: Tom, why is change so hard for some people? In your role,... Read More →